Callaway X Hot v Cleveland CG Black driver

For those with a slow swing speed, has anyone tried and compared these 2 clubs? As much as I'd hate to give up my beloved CG Black, I feel it has been letting me down recently. Surely, it can't be my swing.

You're already shooting in the 70s, why tinker with the brain & equipment.......??

As per Hara's input, the Cleveland Classic still works the best in terms of distance. As for dispersion wise, it's in the swing and the shaft..... My only regret is shortening the shaft in my CG Black ~ it's keeping the ball on the fairways but its lost some distance.

Last edited by Vinny on Thu Aug 29, 2013 9:12 pm; edited 1 time in total

Tried the x-hot driver on the course (friend just got one). Put a good swing and connected nicely, launched slightly high but a good strike into fairway. Then hit the CG black, good hit also but looked like it did not go as far. Went to both balls, CG black 15m further ... Didn't really try after that ...

X-hot was a 10.5, think it was a diamana blue shaft

_________________========================================What's in the Bag

Tried the x-hot driver on the course (friend just got one). Put a good swing and connected nicely, launched slightly high but a good strike into fairway. Then hit the CG black, good hit also but looked like it did not go as far. Went to both balls, CG black 15m further ... Didn't really try after that ...

Tried the x-hot driver on the course (friend just got one). Put a good swing and connected nicely, launched slightly high but a good strike into fairway. Then hit the CG black, good hit also but looked like it did not go as far. Went to both balls, CG black 15m further ... Didn't really try after that ...

X-hot was a 10.5, think it was a diamana blue shaft

My dear president, is what the others saying abt the classic (being better than cg black) true? That it is longer than my beloved cg black?

GF, I've found the the secret to the CG Black for me is a smooth transition. Give the backswing time to complete, pause, then start down. That's how I finally the tamed the dispersion in my CG Black. Couldn't figure it out at first and I was all over the place, left, right, high and short, anything but long and in the fairway. I left it to gather dust for the better part of half a year until I forced myself to use it.

I find the softer and lighter shaft amplifies anything resembling close to a fast or jerky transition into wild shots. Now I'm loving how often I'm finding the short grass so much, I got a second CG Black with 9 degrees of loft, and I've gained another 10 metres of roll on top of the carry from the first 10.5 degree driver.

Which has led to my current curiosity with the Cleveland Classic that Hara and Vinny are loving. That's another kettle of fish altogether. Both Hara and Vinny definitely swing faster than me in the 90+mph range, so not surprising that the Classic is working out better for them. The jury's still out on this club for me. I got the same distance as my CG Black out of it, but I had to put my best swing on the Classic. Not sure if I can do that for 14 holes straight.

By the way Vinny, guys on tour have faster swings and quicker transitions, exactly who the Classic is targeted at, so no surprise there. The international flex code is 8722 in the stiff flex, the shaft is butt stiff with a soft tip for a more stable feel. The CG Black is 4212 in stiff flex, softer all around for more distance with less effort, perfect for slow swinger like me (if I can control the dispersion).

On to the X-Hot. Like Derek, this doesn't compare at all with the CG Black for me. Don't find it any longer than any other driver that's come before it for a slow swinger like me. Could be a different story for the faster swinger. On the other hand the CG Black has the lightweight tech going for it, which has proven to be a boon for the slow swinger. I definitely hit the same distance, if not further, with less effort now.

If anything GF, like MengTeck says, compare the Optiforce with the CG Black, since the former is using similar lightweight tech like the latter. It's more an apple to apple comparison, but then again it could bring you back to the same dispersion problem you're currently having with the CG Black.

And we're back to square one.

But seriously, there's something to be said for the Cleveland Classic. More stability, ergo dispersion, but still with the light weight tech built in for distance. A better compromise perhaps?

Note that they do come in three flavours. The 270, 290 and 310 editions, all denote the weight in grams. Shafts also perform differently for each edition, all have differing flex codes.

Tried the x-hot driver on the course (friend just got one). Put a good swing and connected nicely, launched slightly high but a good strike into fairway. Then hit the CG black, good hit also but looked like it did not go as far. Went to both balls, CG black 15m further ... Didn't really try after that ...

X-hot was a 10.5, think it was a diamana blue shaft

My dear president, is what the others saying abt the classic (being better than cg black) true? That it is longer than my beloved cg black?

I'm comparing both right now GF. My CG Black is a 10.5 degrees stiff. The Classic 290 edition I'm trying out now is also a 10.5 degrees stiff.

The Classic 290 feels way heavier, and the shaft is way stiffer, and shorter by an inch. Like I said above, I hit it the same distance as my CG Black, but I was swinging well that day. Not sure how it compares to the CG Black on a bad swing day though, I'm wondering if it's less forgiving than the Black and might lose more on distance.

Tried the x-hot driver on the course (friend just got one). Put a good swing and connected nicely, launched slightly high but a good strike into fairway. Then hit the CG black, good hit also but looked like it did not go as far. Went to both balls, CG black 15m further ... Didn't really try after that ...

X-hot was a 10.5, think it was a diamana blue shaft

My dear president, is what the others saying abt the classic (being better than cg black) true? That it is longer than my beloved cg black?

My dear Team Captain, Hara has a 9 deg classic for sale Brand New. A big part of why he is trying to sell it now is my fault, he had reserved it for me for a long time before I decided to take his x-hot 3 wood in an attempt (probably futile) to play like you by having the same clubs as you. Dammit! I only let you hit my 5 wood, why did you have to go buy the 3 wood as well???

Tried Vinny's classic, liked the feel of the shaft but felt the weight a bit heavy (IIRC, he was using the tour version with a heavier shaft).

The one Hara is selling has the standard stiff shaft (lighter). I believe that is the same spec as what he is gaming. Swing speed wise, he is about where we are, probably slightly faster. Our tempo are all slightly different but we should be able to use each others clubs easily.

Final option (the one I took) could be to trim the tip by 3/4 inch to stiffen it and don't forget to stick on enough lead tape to get the head heavy enough to help flex the shaft again (I trimmed too much).

_________________========================================What's in the Bag

Tried the x-hot driver on the course (friend just got one). Put a good swing and connected nicely, launched slightly high but a good strike into fairway. Then hit the CG black, good hit also but looked like it did not go as far. Went to both balls, CG black 15m further ... Didn't really try after that ...

X-hot was a 10.5, think it was a diamana blue shaft

My dear president, is what the others saying abt the classic (being better than cg black) true? That it is longer than my beloved cg black?

My dear Team Captain, Hara has a 9 deg classic for sale Brand New. A big part of why he is trying to sell it now is my fault, he had reserved it for me for a long time before I decided to take his x-hot 3 wood in an attempt (probably futile) to play like you by having the same clubs as you. Dammit! I only let you hit my 5 wood, why did you have to go buy the 3 wood as well???

Tried Vinny's classic, liked the feel of the shaft but felt the weight a bit heavy (IIRC, he was using the tour version with a heavier shaft).

The one Hara is selling has the standard stiff shaft (lighter). I believe that is the same spec as what he is gaming. Swing speed wise, he is about where we are, probably slightly faster. Our tempo are all slightly different but we should be able to use each others clubs easily.

Final option (the one I took) could be to trim the tip by 3/4 inch to stiffen it and don't forget to stick on enough lead tape to get the head heavy enough to help flex the shaft again (I trimmed too much).

my driver is 95 mph on the best of days. carry still usually 195 meters. the rest is roll. I needs lotsa rolls

For those with a slow swing speed, has anyone tried and compared these 2 clubs? As much as I'd hate to give up my beloved CG Black, I feel it has been letting me down recently. Surely, it can't be my swing.

Thoughts or reviews, anyone?

Eh, first of all, you dun need to worry much about your tee offs lah.Your approaches are laser guided on. So all you need to do is to keep the ball in fairway for tee offs.

Now, if you were to ask me, I would say the xHot driver would be a better choice. Personally not so keen on the light weight CG black.

Moreover, you already have the xHot woods in your bag.So easier for you to like xHot based on address and feel.